Baseball

GU baseball earns four All-NEAC honors, Pride named Coach of the Year while Holsworth tabbed as Pitcher of the Year

May 02, 2013

GANSEVOORT, N.Y. – The North Eastern
Athletic Conference (NEAC) released its 2013 baseball
all-conference awards on Thursday and Gallaudet University
sophomore Brandon
Holsworth (Beal City, Mich.) was named NEAC Pitcher of
the Year while Curtis Pride was voted by his
peers, for a second time in a row, as the NEAC Coach of the Year.
Gallaudet had four All-NEAC honorees, as two on each the first and
second teams.

Senior shortstop Tommy
Barksdale (Brookeville, Md.) makes his third straight
All-NEAC team but his first on the first team. He was a second team
honoree in 2011, '12. Holsworth joins Barksdale on the first team
as the right-hander earns All-NEAC honors for the first time in his
career.

Junior catcher Casey Hicks
(Henderson, Nev.) landed on the second team, a year after being on
the all-conference first team. Hicks is joined by fellow junior
Chris
Guinn (McLoud, Okla.), who earns his first All-NEAC
honor.

Pride has guided the Bison (20-19, 11-3 NEAC) to a share of the
conference regular-season championship. Gallaudet last won a
conference championship in 1977. GU is the No. 1 seed entering this
weekend's NEAC tournament at Hoy Field. The Bison won 20 games for
a second year in a row and defeated its first-ever nationally
ranked team on March 20 with an 11-10 extra-innings victory over
No. 23 Rowan University.

Holsworth is the most decorated pitcher in the conference as he
was named conference pitcher of the week on three different
occasions (March 4, March 25, April 29) this past season. Twice he
was named an honorable mention for the NCAA Division III National
Pitcher of the Week award (March 7, May 2) and he earned ECAC
Division III South Pitcher of the Week honors once (April 30).
Holsworth is ranked No. 15 in Division III for complete games
(six). The sophomore leads the NEAC in games started (10), complete
games, shutouts (two), innings pitched (70.1), second in wins
(five), strikeouts (47), fifth in appearances (14) and seventh in
ERA (3.20). Holsworth finished the regular season with three
straight complete game victories.

Barksdale was named NEAC Student-Athlete of the Week once (March
4). He ranks second in the nation for triples (seven) and 16th for
triples per game (0.18) as the Bison rank sixth as a team for
triples (19). Barksdale is also second in Division III for walks
(33) and ninth for walks per game (0.85) and 39th in on base
percentage (.506). The senior shortstop leads the NEAC in triples,
walks, runs (38), RBIs (39), on base percentage, is second in total
bases (80), third in slugging percentage (.640), fourth in games
(39), plate appearances (162), doubles (10), fifth in stolen bases
(15) hits (47), seventh in home runs (three) and 10th in batting
average (.376). Barksdale has started all 39 games for the Bison.
He had 13 games with two or more hits and drove in two or more runs
in a game on 10 different occasions.

Hicks was named NEAC Student-Athlete of the Week once (April
15). He was started all 39 games at catcher for the Bison. He ranks
23rd in the nation for triples (five) and 65th for triples per game
(0.13). The junior ranks third in the NEAC for triples (five), hit
by pitch (eight), fourth in games (39), sixth in walks (19),
seventh in plate appearances (156), eighth in at bats (127), stolen
bases (10), 10th in RBIs (26) and sacrifice flies (two). Behind the
plate he ranks second in the conference for throwing out 17 runners
trying to steal as he tallied 142 putouts, 37 assists and made only
four errors this season.

Guinn has started 37 games for the Bison at either third base or
as a starting pitcher. At the plate he ranks eighth in the NEAC for
home runs (two), ninth in doubles (nine), 10th in runs (29), 12th
in games (37), 13th in plate appearances (144), at bats (123), 14th
in RBIs (24), 16th in walks (14) and 17th in total bases (52). The
junior third baseman has made 89 putouts with 58 assists in the
field. On the mound, he ranks third in the NEAC for games started
(nine), innings pitched (51.0), seventh in strikeouts (32), ninth
in wins (three) and 11th in complete games (two). He pitched a
complete game five-hitter in a 4-1 win over Penn St.-Harrisburg on
April 27.

Penn St.-Abington senior Bill Parave was named NEAC Player of
the Year while Penn St.-Harrisburg freshman Bryan Balshy was picked
as NEAC Rookie of the Year.